Black Caps pull off a morale-boosting victory

Falmouth (Jamaica), June 5 (IANS/CMC) New Zealand turned the tables on Jamaica Select XI to pull off a 123 run win just after tea on the third and final day of their three-day tour game at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Complex here.

The Jamaicans, chasing a target of 214, crashed at 90 all out to give the Black Caps a morale boosting victory Wednesday ahead of the first Test match against West Indies at Sabina Park starting Sunday, reports CMC.

The home side plummeted to 47 for seven at one stage before skipper Paul Palmer attempted to repair the damage with a top score of 52.

Palmer was last to depart trapped lbw to Neil Wagner playing across to a pitched up delivery.

No other Jamaican batsman crossed six runs except for Horace Miller who scored 14 while extras accounted for nine.

The main destroyers of the home side's innings were Mark Craig who topped the bowling with four wickets for eight runs and Kane Williamson who picked up two for 25.

Craig, an off-spinner, snatched three wickets in one over and was on a hat-trick at one point as the Jamaicans lost wickets in quick succession.

They were reeling on three wickets for three runs just after lunch, struggling to negotiate the new ball attack of Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

Earlier, Ross Taylor continued his rich form with a half century which delayed a New Zealand batting collapse that began on the second day.

Taylor batted diligently to reach 55, facing 55 balls, hitting six fours, to help lift New Zealand from a precarious 65 for seven overnight.

His innings also helped to extend the lead allowing New Zealand to declare at 139 for nine by lunch time.

Pacer Derval Green was the main wicket-taker, finishing with a five-wicket haul that included two wickets in four balls.

The match Wednesday was played on a new strip after the pitch used for the first two days was declared dangerous by the umpires.

But the start of play was delayed by 40 minutes because the new strip was damp.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 203 for nine (Kane Williamson 47, BJ Watling 30, James Neesham, 28 not out, Chris Powell 2/21) and 139 for 9 decl. (Ross Taylor 55 not out, Derval Green 5 for 41) Jamaica Select XI 22 for 9 (Kennar Lewis 30, John Campbell 24, Ish Sodhi 5/35, Trent Boult 2/8) and 90 all out (Paul Palmer 52, Mark Craig 4/8, Kane Williamson 2/25).

--IANS/CMC
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